HKMA to launch 15-Year Exchange Fund Notes

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Friday) the inaugural issue of 15-year Exchange Fund Notes on 28 August.

The launch of the 15-year Exchange Fund Notes follows the recommendation arising from the October 2006 review of the Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issuance programme. The review recommended, among other things, extension of the benchmark yield curve to beyond 10 years.

After consulting with the market participants, the HKMA has decided to launch the first 15-year Exchange Fund Notes in August. The size of the issue will be $600 million and the 15-year paper is expected to be issued on a half-yearly basis.

Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said "The launch of the 15-year Exchange Fund Notes is a key step to further develop the Hong Kong dollar debt market. By extending the benchmark yield curve to 15 years, it will facilitate the private sector entities to issue debt paper beyond 10 years and help increase the depth of our debt market."

As part of the effort to streamline the Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issuance programme, the 7-year Exchange Fund Notes will be discontinued upon the launch of the 15-year Exchange Fund Notes. The revised issuance schedule is attached in the annex.

Annex

For further enquiries, please contact:
Sara Yip, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Hing-fung Wong, Officer (Press), at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
10 August 2007